The Immortal
by Zentin
Summary: Alive for a thousand years, forced to wander the seven seas after the destruction of the Elemental Nations, Naruto Uzumaki finally remakes his appearance at the battle of Marineford. With the power of the ancient arts in his hands, he seeks to stop Portgas D. Ace's execution. The World Government and the Grand Line will never be the same again!


"Pirate King, Gold Roger and the Revolutionary Dragon, the thought of these two being step-brothers is quite a frightening thought…" the Marine Admiral Akainu spoke towering over the collapsed Portagas D. Ace, "Your fate has been decided! Regardless of who else gets away, I swear to never let you two escape!" and the tall, lava using marine jumped right over Ace, his arm transformed and emanating a dangerous heat very similar to the disposition of the powerful marine admiral.

"Luffy!" Ace's eyes widened in horror at what Akainu was about to do, three, two, one…the final seconds as Akainu drew to strike the killing blow, Ace dashed to sacrifice his life in the place of his brother. He decided that Luffy had to live, no matter the cost. He stood over Luffy protecting him with his body, closed his eyes and waited for death to come his way. Akainu approached swiftly, so focused on his targets and executing the Marine's Justice upon the two brothers. The Whitebeard Pirates, a short distance away shouted, "ACE!" as they watched unable to save the two from Akainu's wrath.

In an instant, as if time froze, a figure appeared in between Ace and Akainu, a large, sky-blue ball of twisting, spiraling energy in his open palm. It happened so fast, that even Luffy who was facing Ace and Akainu could barely register the speed of the attack, and a familiar voice declared, "**ODAMA RASENGAN!**" followed by a huge explosion which sent both Luffy and Ace rolling back several feet across the ground, but otherwise unscathed and unharmed.

All action on the battlefield stopped…both marines and pirates both stood and stared in awe, fear, and wonder at what happened to Admiral Akainu. As the smoke from the explosive power of the attack settled, it was revealed Akainu had been sent flying over two hundred yards and knocked back into a concrete wall which turned to rubble as the man crashed into it. Those who were closest to the said man noted that there in the admiral's stomach was now a circular indentation that looked as if he had been hit with a combination of a cannon ball and a chainsaw, his maroon red ensemble was torn to shreds around the affected area and his chest covered with burns.

Jaws dropped and eyes wide in shock, everyone turned to see a man now standing before Luffy and Ace who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Immediately, both sides sought to identify him wondering who this stranger was and what purpose he interfered for, but were unable to as he was completely unknown to anyone there. He stood at about six-feet, with sunshine blonde hair, a lean but muscular build, and possessed cerulean-sea blue eyes which were narrowed into an angry glare. He wore a black and red flamed patterned haori jacket over a black vest and a navy blue long sleeved shirt with orange pants and black sandals. On his face were three whisker marks on each cheek giving him a very feral appearance and to finish the imposing image as a warrior, tied around his head was a black, thin strip of cloth that danced in the wind.

Luffy and Ace, out of everyone were the most surprised. It took a moment to recognize him, but when they did, both scarcely were able to believe that the man who stood before them, and had saved their lives once again, was their beloved sensei who neither had seen for over three years, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Luffy…Ace…." The man quietly spoke, his back towards them as his haori jacket billowed in the cannon fire generated breeze, "I know I said that I wouldn't interfere after you set off to become pirates, but I think that I can make an exception for this."

The two with tears now running down their faces stammered out, "Na..Naruto se-sensei!" Both of them not caring why the man was here despite knowing the fact that the man indeed despised war. That fact alone showed how much he still cared for and loved them.

Across the battlefield, the hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp, also known as Garp the Fist, Luffy's and Ace's grandfather, grit his teeth, but at the same time he was deeply thankful for the interference of this stranger, once he too recognized the man, despite himself being a Marine. Of course, _he_ knew about Naruto. How could he not? The man practically raised Luffy and Ace, and was the one truly responsible for training the two while Garp was away. The man had disappeared sometime after Ace had become a pirate, once again leaving Luffy in the care of Dadan and Makino. Garp simply rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "So…he finally decided to show up…can't say I blame him...however, I do sense another lecture from Sengoku in the nearby future. Oh well, what can you do?" and he sighed again and just sat back to observe.

At the revelation of the identity of the stranger, when all had heard who he was from Ace's and Luffy's mouths, Marines, Warlords, and Pirates alike showed varying expressions of shock. From the wide eyed Marine Admirals, Aokiji, Sengoku, and Kizaru, to the dropped jaws of most of the pirates and marines, to the hateful glare of Admiral Akainu who now painfully managed to stand up.

"**WHAAAAAAT?!**" was the general consensus and the situation could have been quite humorous had this revelation not occurred on the battlefield. Naruto quickly took advantage of the standstill amongst the fighting, "I know you have a lot of questions, but now is not the time to socialize. Luffy, Ace…I will hold off the Marines, you just focus on getting out of here… If you die, all the sacrifices made today will amount to nothing…"

"But Sensei!" Ace stated in his anger...but Naruto cut him off with a hard stare.

"No buts, Ace! Why do you insist on throwing your life away for nothing?! You are both severely injured and Luffy has gone through literal hell to get to you! I've stood by watching long enough. It's my turn to put my life on the line!" The cerulean eyed man clenched his left hand into a fist in determination; in his right hand Luffy and Ace noticed the familiar presence of a tri-pronged kunai dagger where at the hilt was a small paper band with a black ink inscription on it, finally realizing how he got to them so quickly, "I don't care what happens, they will pay for hurting my students, and no force on earth will stop me!"

Ace and Luffy were both equally shocked at the amount of fury held in the blonde's tone, but noting it was not towards them, but towards those who dared hurt them. Ace's eyes widened and he swallowed back fear. The marines had awoken a demon in the form of Naruto Uzumaki, one that might be more terrifying than his Captain. Luffy, on the other hand, could only stammer again, "Se-sensei!" continuing to let tears fall that he knew that he would not be able to stop.

Turning to the Marines, specifically focusing on Admiral Akainu, the Uzumaki sheathed his kunai, and brought his fingers together in a cross while calmly staring at his chosen opponents, "So, you think that my students are scary? Well, that's good then, because that means that I trained them right! I admit I taught them the importance of fighting for what truly is important! I admit that I taught them how to fight! I admit that I personally watched over them for five years! I admit these things with a clear conscience, and I admit that there was no greater joy than teaching them to seek the ideal! You may seek to kill me, but I wouldn't take back anything that has happened in the past seven years because of them. If you seek to kill them, I, Naruto Uzumaki, will draw the line here! **Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" and at once the sound of another explosion occurred and the entire battlefield was filled with smoke, which when blown away, hundreds of clones of the man were revealed in a line formation all in battle ready stances, once again shocking everyone at the amount of power he displayed.

"Whitebeard Pirates," Naruto shouted to those behind them, "do whatever you can to protect my students and get the hell out of here! This is no longer your fight, as I have to once again leave a certain message to the World Government!" he grinned as if his birthday had come early, "It's been a long time… after all no one has ever broken my record in over nine hundred and twenty- two years!"

At this the Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked as if he had been shot, "No…it can't be…you can't be…"and he nearly collapsed in fear, to think that he was still alive… that the legends were true, that he truly was immortal!

Naruto, upon seeing the black haired Fleet Admiral's reaction laughed hysterically, "Hahahahahahaha! So you figured it out, did you? I knew the clones would be the real tick off for someone like you, the Fleet Admiral…eh Senny-Boy?" his nickname for the Marine Admiral and the sheer rudeness caught many by surprise considering his demeanor was so serious mere minutes before this.

"Are you saying you are Naruto Uzumaki- the Immortal, the man with the highest recorded bounty in all of history?!" Sengoku almost screamed hysterically, causing everyone on the battlefield to start freaking out. Even the Whitebeard Pirates were backing away from Naruto in slight fear.

"What was it again…? I believe it was a hundred and twenty years ago somewhere worth around two and a half billion? Though, due to my inactivity, it is understandable that the World Government assumed that I was dead, but I thought this war was the perfect opportunity to reassert that I was still alive!" Naruto said this all very nonchalantly, as if he was talking about the weather or some other mundane topic. His grin was still as bright as the sun as he said this, and even Whitebeard could only stop and stare at the very unassuming blonde (though for some reason the old pirate captain felt like he had met this man before) "But then again, I did manage to really tick off the Gorosei. Something about being the last witness of the Void Century I believe? My situation at the end of that period had made me known far and wide to the twenty kingdoms and the rest of the world, and they were afraid that I would use this knowledge to wipe them out…" And Naruto began rubbing his chin in thought as if contemplating the decision at that very moment, but then blinked and then turned around to glare at his students.

"Luffy, Ace…stop gawking at me and get out of here like I told you to! Don't make me teleport you to some deserted island in the middle of nowhere!" his student's looked at each other and ran like hell not wanting to tempt their sensei's wrath, and Naruto rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Turning back to the Marines, he glared angrily once again, knowing that he terrified them all, "You idiots! You really messed up this time you know…" and Naruto simply walked forward towards the marines who all remained petrified in everlasting fear, his clones remained standing guard making sure no more attacks were aimed at the retreating Whitebeard Pirates, "...the fact that I am here should really send you a message that your government has a problem, and it's a problem that needs to be fixed. I would have done it years ago, but due to certain circumstances I have allowed the World Government to have its freedom. Now I see that may have been the biggest mistake that I have ever made." He shook his sadly; disappointed it had gotten to this point. "I have seen your government in all of its forms, and I know more secrets than any other living person on the face of the earth, most of which that your government would prefer to keep quiet. Yet I haven't done a single thing or broken a single law other than remain existing in the over nine hundred years I have lived! So let me ask you a question. Do you know your history?"

'He wouldn't!' the Admirals' eyes all widened in horror.

Sengoku's face became white for a mere moment, but he growled furiously, "Don't you dare Naruto Uzumaki! If you speak of anything, I will kill you myself!"

"Ha! As if Sengoku! You're just a little brat compared to me, and your government has never once caught me! You would be another hopeless failure like all the rest who have attempted to!" and Naruto shook his head and rolled his eyes, "You speak of justice, yet you know nothing of it! You may be able to fool your men and the common citizens that serve the kings of this world, but you cannot fool me for I know the truth!"

"Stop! I forbid you!" Sengoku furious at the blonde's defiance, but it was to no avail…

"How could you possibly know of justice when your government has senselessly murdered over two hundred million people in its nine hundred year history?! From the very beginning, it has perpetuated all forms of wickedness and evil including slavery, racism, poverty, sex trafficking, genocide, corruption, war, and thousands of other crimes that make some of the worst pirates in history look like saints in comparison! The World Government has also destroyed an entire _**continent**_ just because it had the power to do so!"

The marines all froze at the criticisms the blond haired man spoke of, where not even Akainu could answer or retort against the blond haired man's attack on absolute justice. Naruto's rage built as he continued on his tirade, his voice carrying louder and louder across the battlefield and across the world. Many of the marines looked towards each other hesitating in their assault, many for the first time, as they contemplated the truth of the blonde's words. The pirates on the other hand looked upon Naruto with awe, seeing how the man boldly revealed how corrupt the World Government was.

"This execution should have never happened! You had no right to carry out this death sentence on Portagas D. Ace because I know that Ace and Luffy would never under any circumstances kill anyone without a true, just cause! Yet, you still want to kill them both for the sins of their fathers, which both are innocent of! You seem to forget that the government's power is NOT absolute. You have abandoned the true purpose and true good of protecting the innocent making you, the Marines and the World Government, far worse than any pirate that has ever roamed the sea! You are nothing more than tyrannical, hypocritical dumbasses!"

The single transponder snail still active continued to transmit this information to the nearby Saboady Archipelago. Reporters from across the world, writing for hundreds of newspapers around the world, had their jaws dropped in shock. Word had spread amongst the locals of the man who stood defying the government, and the fact remained they questioned themselves as well. Was it possible that what this man said was true? That the government had done such terrible, wicked things all in the name of maintaining its power and authority? They knew of slavery, and they knew the World Nobles and the rich supported it, but genocide, the slaughtering of entire nations and peoples?

At the blonde's words, the hot tempered Akainu could not control his rage and despite his injuries, rushed at him, transforming his body once again into lava.

Naruto smirked, "I will enjoy fighting you! Now bring it!"

"DIE!" Akainu screamed in rage, furious that Naruto had not kept his silence and speaking ill of the World Government's failures and cruelty. He would make this man pay!


End file.
